A quality education system is vital to the health and welfare of Vermont and its communities. We need to ensure that our K-12 public schools adequately prepare students for the increasingly connected world from both an academic and vocational perspective.

The legislature has debated the best way to structure and finance K-12 education for more than 40 years.

Act 46 requires school districts to consolidate in the name of improving education and to lower overall costs, with the very real outcome of having schools consolidate. It is a complex issue that needs to be carefully considered in each community.

Long term, reducing our current education costs to a sustainable level requires school consolidation. That is very difficult in a district like Reading where the school is the heart of the community. I would support ways to keep pre-K – 3rd schools open in those communities, provided they can keep their costs to the regional average and still maintain quality programs for their students.